Day 400: Let 'er Rip!

Just applied for a job I have maybe a 10 percent chance of getting.

I usually like better odds than that. I have a 100 percent chance of succeeding in the job, but that's almost never the bottom line.

Which is kind of crazy if you think about it.

I'd do well in this one because it's got a value system that aligns with my skills and personality across the board. The work, the voice, the mission, the location... all home runs.

A funny thing happened on the way to the future, though. For this one, knowing my odds were/are long, I decided to take some chances. I let 'er rip.

What I mean by that is, about 99+ percent of the time playing this damn game, you do everything by the book. You formalize the entire process. If you get to the interview, you wear a suit.

Now, I understand the idea of appearances, the business world, all that noise. But at the same time... it's inherently dishonest.

Like when you want to ask someone out for a date. And when they actually AGREE to go on the date. In all likelihood, you get gussied up. You may get a haircut. If you're driving, you clean up your car. You brush your teeth. You even floss. Then you do something to mask the taste of the blood in your mouth from flossing. You may pluck unsightly hairs.

You game the whole thing. And hope that you show the very best representation of someone very similar to you.

Because that ain't you. YOU are the person who doesn't fold the laundry, because what's the point in folding underwear? In fact, if you leave it in the basket, it's like a fruit-of-the-loom basket! Economy of motion!

Dates are mostly phony. And so is the job process. I crave a job where I can just be me, and let the work speak for itself. I promise: I'll kick ass. I may not always look good doing it, but I will never embarrass the company, and the work will be world-class.

Why would anyone care about anything else? But in the unreal world, there are a lot of considerations that have to be accounted for that having zippo to do with the actual work requirements. Mostly this is in the form of office politics.

I was never a good office politician, and I'm probably worse at it now than I've ever been. Or better at it. I'm better at it in the sense that even though it disgusts me and is completely phony, I also know that you'd damn well better learn that part of the job fast, and if office politics exist (almost always, they do) then you're going to have to play to some extent.

But I'm worse at it because I still find it reprehensible, and it's a burr in my unfolded undies that grates on me constantly. It shouldn't exist.

But whatever. In this case, I fired off a letter that probably better than anything expresses who I am and what I value. Whoever wakes up to it tomorrow morning will definitely have a laugh. I suspect they're going to call someone and share the letter. This will either be very promising, or very bad.

If it's bad, well, nothing ventured. If it's GOOD, then someone gets me. And if they get me, they know that I'm a truth-teller, and that I'll do what I say I'm going to do. And then things could get very interesting.

Ah, what the hell, they're interesting already. I had fun sending this one because the bullshit filter was switched off. It was kinda liberating, actually.